(Zaman Al Wasl)- Syrian human rights’ advocates emphasized that the Syrian regime and allies, such as Russia, Iraq, Iran and Hezbollah, are legally responsible of the Syrian detainees’ tragedy, saying the United Nations is also involved in the moral responsibility towards them as well.
There are vain attempts by the Assad regime to clear out the file of forcibly disappeared and the detainees, by delivering their death’s news without mentioning their death’s cause. This carelessness showed from the part of the regime, backed by key ally Russia, indicates the regime’s indifference to the reaction of the international community. After all, the international community, didn’t turn a hair, regarding the regime’s capital crimes, such as the use of chemical weapons, according to journalist and human rights activist Mansour al-Omari.
Their corpses were not handed over to the families, which were disposed of, either through mass graves or through crematorium such as the one to be found in Saydnaya prison, northwest of Damascus, therefore the regime refuses any requests of the part of the families, asking to hand them over the corpses.
Al-Omari added that the families who receive the news of their son's death, couldn’t investigate the causes of the death, intimidated by the fear of being arrested, of course. Which puts an end to their son’s files, therefore accepting the given reality
"Some victim’s families are afraid to contact any of the government’s department, mainly the civil register, for the fear of being wanted or arrested." |
The International Amnesty has previously said that more than 17,700 people were estimated to have died in regime custody across Syria since the country's conflict erupted in 2011.
The human rights’ activist pointed the difficulty of pursuing justice by the victims’ families in Syria, He warned, then, the families about the necessity of reaching to the regional or the international courts. He said: "Families should reach to the Syrian and the international humanitarian organizations, in order to document their cases of death, hence to issue legal complaints to the international courts.
Al-Omari has assured that many Syrian organizations, constitute the basic step of receiving from families, the information to document and to work with the national judiciary system, as well as the international organizations of several countries, as Germany, Sweden and others, to file lawsuits against Assad and his gang.
People of the regions under the regime’s rule, who fear the regime's revenge, can confidentially communicate with the active organizations working on this this field, who would have the right to ask for anonymity, in order to hide any information that my lead to them.
Many Syrian organizations, constitute the basic step of receiving from families, the information to document and to work with the national judiciary system, as well as the international organizations of several countries, as Germany, Sweden and others, to file lawsuits against Assad and his gang, al-Omari said.
Journalist Firas Al-Labad, learned of his brother’s martyrdom, who was arrested 6 years ago, through the regime’s list that was sent to the city. He explained: "We lived on the hope that my brother would be released and he would come out alive. My brother, aged 19, was arrested at a security checkpoint in Damascus. Since then, we have not known where was he and at which arresting point he was. My mother kept on going to the security branches of the Assad regime in Damascus to ask about him. Until the news of his martyrdom comes from the newly distributed list”.
Zaman al-Wasl and The Gathering of Free Syrian Advocates have obtained names of 145 detainees were tortured to death as the regime ordered the civil registry office in Hama province to issue death certificates for the detainees which ignore the reason of death.
Syria is not a member of the International Criminal Court. The only way the court could prosecute someone from Syria would be through a referral from the United Nations Security Council.
Mohamed Nour Hmaidi, head of the Syrian Justice Gathering and the former head of Public Prosecution in Idlib province, said the regime is seeking to conceal its crimes backed by Iran and Russia as Assad thinks the war is over.
The death certificates were part of the post-war plans, Hamaidi said as about 600,000 Syrian are believed to be behind the bars.
In August 2012, the regime forces backed by allied militias defeated the rebel forces and took control of the town. About 500 people were found executed by the regime in the bloody offensive.
The U.N. said in its reports over Syrian detainees that the scale of deaths in prisons indicated that the Assad regime was responsible for “extermination as a crime against humanity”.
In mid 2013, a team of war crimes prosecutors and forensic experts, had analyzed 55 thousand digital photos taken and provided by a Syrian defector codenamed "Caesar," who, along with his family, is now living outside Syria in an undisclosed location, according to CNN.
The 8000-detainee list is not related to Caesar's photos.
The team members shared their findings in a joint exclusive with CNN's "Amanpour" and The Guardian newspaper on January 20, 2014.
The death date of each torture victim is documented between 2011 and 2018
(307 victims in 2011 - 1,199 victims in 2012 - 2,120 victims in 2013 - 2276 victims in 2014 - 1413 victims in 2015 - 401 victims in 2016 - 146 victims in 2017 - 170 victims in 2018)
1- Damascus suburbs 1856
2. Daraa 1283
3. Homs 1253
4. Damascus 870
5. Hama 762
6. Idlib 585
7. Aleppo 473
8. Deir Ezzor 450
9. Latakia 154
10. Quneitra 110
11. Raqqa 50
12. Hasaka 44
13. Tartus 28 (mostly from Banyas city)
14. Swaida 23
10 victims of non-Syrian nationalities, 2 of the victims were not affiliated with any nationality.
Zaman al-Wasl hopes that all material, documentation and information provided in the detainees reports would be used for the purposes of legal actions, proceedings, litigation, matters and international levels before courts, tribunals and human rights organisations.
Zaman Al Wasl
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